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Remove the unused Forward Template editor from Messages settings

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Since Oct 4, 2026.

  • #9991 by @atomantic — merged

Assessment

Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Newbie friendliness
85/100
Issue type
Refactor
Clarity
Clearly specified
Activity status
Active
Tech stack
javascript, react
Domain
backend, frontend, testing-qa

Research direction

Start in client/src/components/messages/ConfigTab.jsx at the Forward Template state, field, and save handling, then review ConfigTab.test.jsx and server/routes/settings.js:678 to understand nested settings replacement. Remove the inert editor and default while preserving an existing legacy value, and verify the rendered interaction keeps Reply Template and conversational-tone saving intact.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

area:ui bug effort:low incomplete model:light plan planner:gpt-6-1-sol

Audited 2026-10-04. Slice: Messages configuration, draft generation route, evaluator callers, tests, and history.
Scope: small. Severity: 4/10.

Problem

Messages Settings offers an editable "Forward Template" under Prompt Templates (client/src/components/messages/ConfigTab.jsx:669). The component loads it at :86, changes it at :676, and saves messages.forwardTemplate through Save Config at :193.

No runtime path reads this setting. Repository-wide identifier search finds forwardTemplate only in that configuration component. The actual generator, server/services/messageEvaluator.js:118, chooses templateOverride or msgConfig.replyTemplate at :123. Its HTTP caller (server/routes/messages.js:235) supplies reply options only; the other production caller in server/services/tribeOutreach.js:577 supplies an outreach override. There is no forwarding entry point selecting the saved Forward Template.

Impact and evidence

A user can edit and save a template intended to affect generated drafts, but it changes no generated message. This is an offered inert setting, not a request to add an unrelated forwarding feature.

The editor was introduced by c700d58b4 with the Messages Config page. Current ConfigTab tests cover OAuth actions; evaluator tests cover reply generation, with no forwarding consumer. Static data-flow inspection is sufficient to prove the missing consumer; no provider call or private data was used.

Decided fix: remove the unsupported surface

In client/src/components/messages/ConfigTab.jsx, remove the Forward Template field, DEFAULT_FORWARD_TEMPLATE, and its editable local state. Do not initialize or save a default for this unsupported feature. Keep the functional Reply Template and conversational-tone controls.
Preserve an existing stored messages.forwardTemplate as opaque legacy passthrough, only when the fetched setting actually contains that key. PUT /api/settings replaces the nested messages slice at server/routes/settings.js:678, so simply omitting it on save would discard the original value. Retain that original key (including an intentionally empty value) when saving supported fields, without inventing a default. Do not add a migration or change global settings merge semantics. A future forwarding workflow can deliberately reuse those values when it supplies a real consumer.

Add a focused rendered configuration regression in ConfigTab.test.jsx: the inert field is absent and saving a Reply Template still sends the supported settings without introducing a default forwardTemplate; an existing legacy value round-trips unchanged. No generation behavior should change.

Dispatch: model:light for a well-specified removal in one component; effort:low because the consumer search proves the setting has no runtime dependency.

Acceptance criteria

  • Messages Settings offers no Forward Template editor and no longer initializes or writes a replacement default for it.
  • Reply Template and conversational tone remain editable and saved.
  • Saving supported settings preserves a pre-existing stored Forward Template instead of clearing it.
  • A rendered interaction regression verifies the supported Save Config payload and the absent inert control.
Dominant language
JavaScript
Stars
38
Forks
32
Avg merge
33m
Merged PRs (30d)
988

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